China Reveals Candidate for AIIB Presidency

A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry has formally announced Jin Liqun's nomination for the position of President of the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB). (Photo : REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood)

The Chinese government announced on Monday that the secretary-general of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Jin Liqun is the formost candidate to fill the post of AIIB President.

The New Indian Express reported that the AIIB founders formulated the rules for the nomination process last week in Beijing. Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, formally announced Jin Liqun's nomination and listed his various credentials.

66-year-old Jin Liqun has been the general secretary of the newly formed international lending institution since it was founded.

Before working for AIIB, he held the post of vice president in the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and also served as the finance ministry's vice minister. He was chairman of the China Investment Corporation and China International Capital Corporation.

The nomination process is only limited to Asian members. Nominations for the highest position will be closed by the end of July. The election is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2015.

The AIIB was founded by 57 countries. China is currently its leading member and was the driving force of its creation.

Although the AIIB rules state that a candidate for the position of President must garner 75 percent of the votes, The Diplomat noted that China currently controls around 30 percent of the bank's total assets. Based on the capital structure and voting powers distributed in the AIIB, the Chinese government reportedly has more than enough voting power to elect its candidate as the AIIB president.

Financial experts see the formation of the AIIB as China's challenge to other leading international financial bodies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank (WB). These two organizations usually have an American serving as president. The president in the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a Japanese.

Incidentally, Jin Liqun once worked at the ADB as its vice president. He is China's top representative at the World Bank.

Hua explained that the election process for the president of AIIB will be democratic and transparent. She also said that the merits of the candidates will serve as a basis for their selection.